US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met on Thursday amid a stalemate in talks over tariffs affecting global trade.
The conversation was reported by China's state-run Xinhua news agency and confirmed by China's Foreign Ministry, which said Mr. Trump initiated the call. The White House has not yet commented on the matter.
Mr Trump said yesterday that reaching an agreement with Mr Xi Jinping would be a difficult task.
“I like President Xi of China, always have and always will, but he is VERY Tough and VERY HARD TO DEAL WITH!!!” Mr. Trump wrote on his social media page on Wednesday.
Trade talks between the US and China have been stalled shortly after the two countries reached a temporary agreement to reduce tariffs on May 12.
The reason for the stagnation is the ongoing struggle for economic advantage.
The US accuses China of failing to export critical minerals, while the Chinese government complains that America is restricting high-tech sales and access to student visas for graduate and college students.
Mr Trump cut tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30% for 90 days to restart talks.
In response, China also cut tariffs on American goods from 125% to 10%. This has caused major volatility in global markets and could complicate trade between the two countries.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has suggested that only dialogue between Trump and Xi can resolve these differences and get serious talks back on track. But underlying tensions between the two countries may remain.
Even if talks resume, Mr Trump is keen to reduce US dependence on Chinese manufacturing and reindustrialise, while China wants to continue developing its technologies, such as electric vehicles and artificial intelligence, which could be key to its economic future.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the trade imbalance between the United States and China will be $295 billion in 2024.
While the Chinese government's focus on manufacturing has made the country a powerful economic and geopolitical force, China faces challenges as the economy slows following a housing bust and coronavirus lockdowns that have sapped consumer spending.
Mr Trump and Mr Xi last spoke in January, three days before Inauguration Day, to discuss trade and Mr Trump's demands that China do more to prevent the import of the synthetic opioid.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
